Just a humble solar electrician saving the world one roof at a time! This channel will be used to provide helpful information to anyone interested in solar power. Starting with solar 101 basics and translating that to your electric bill, all the way to electrical theory, roofing attachments and financing.
Assuming this fixed lasts, this was a wonderful and super helpful video! The only thing I would add is that some SMA inverters require knocking on the display, like mine. Fortunately I figured that out and was able to do the knocking on the display Before Time ran out and before thinking this solution was not a good one a good one.
this was great. im a electrician and am going to install the solar at my house myself and im going to follow this to the t loll what is the actual brand of that little flashing called that you put in the seems?
Subscribe to be notified of any new videos I post. I have some electrical/wiring videos planned for the future. Those were 5"×7" aluminum step flashings.
@@Paul_The_Solar_Titanif you have any flat roof projects id love to see how you install the brackets for those. and a detailed way how to connect the arrays would be helpful too. i followed how you do it to the t and it came out good just a little bit more messy with the silicone loll
The minimum roof pitch for asphalt shingles is 2:12, but industry standard minimum is 4:12. Anything less than that would typically be a rubber or metal roof. Thanks for the feedback, and I will offer some more system design videos in the future. Stay tuned!
Beautiful installation, jealous that the east coast has such high quality technicians. Can you talk about what you consider the most important part of a solar installation? I think the top ten mistakes you see with installations might be a popular media for youtube, my two cents. New subscriber, looking forward to your upcoming media presentations also your insights.
Thank you for the kind words. I believe quality control to be the most important factor to ensure the longevity of these installations. As long as you are using proven products and installation techniques, you will reduce future complications or issues. Thanks for the feedback and I will seriously consider putting together a video of mistakes to look out for. Stay tuned!
Roofers are badass. Solar Installers are morally righteous. So that would make you a Morally Righteous Badass. We need an army of MRB's to follow in your footsteps, real soon. Lets hope we get there, and thanks for teaching people... teaching doubles that MRB factor!
You're welcome, I'm glad you found it helpful. That video was filmed in April 2020 and we were required to wear masks inside buildings in my area. That one is Bumblebee from Transformers 😎
@@Paul_The_Solar_Titan Im about to attack the same unit next door that has never worked properly in the 8 years its been installed. Armed with your information I now understand what Im looking at and for. I also understand why there is an external isolation box for the PV grid as NZ follows the same regulations. Wish me luck
@@Paul_The_Solar_Titan Well I got one going but the other is saying error changing grid param unchanged. Looking on the web it looks like a fault in the unit or configuration which I cant access. Its definitely got DC volts within range and AC volts and frequency is the same as the adjacent unit so I suspect Im knackered.
If it has never happened and you were able to reset it, along with the fact that it continues to run normally; would indicate a nuisance trip/fault. These particular inverter models were known to have sensitive arc-fault sensors that throw an error without an actual fault. If the problem persists, contact you installer to inspect the system as there is likely an issue.
These systems are not large because of the weight of the solar panels, but rather the wind speed. This system has a 3-cup anemometer so it will automatically stow flat at wind speeds above 30 mph, and at night. When flat, they are rated for 120 mph wind loads!
@Paul_The_Solar_Titan I am looking for the make and model of the system. This system is no puny tracker. I need something sturdy, not the flimsy not worthy type!
These may be very basic questions but I’m very new to this . 1. Does the entire roof have to be paneled 2. Is there various sized panels for a homes variety of electrical needs ? 3. Is it overall better to have solar for all electrical, heating/ cooling needs . 4. Is solar a better option in all states or is solar in combination with other heat/ cooling options better in northen states. Thank you .. awesome education .
1 & 2. PV systems are sized based on how much energy you use, and depending on the type of solar panel installed may require more or less roof space. Generally the less expensive brands from China are less efficient and will require more roof space, which is why we don't quote them. 3. Electricity is the most efficient form of energy to use, and there are many different ways to utilize it in your home; lights, receptacles, cooking, laundry, heating, driving, etc. Make sure you are subscribed, so that you don't miss my future videos on this very topic. 4. Solar power works everywhere; after all, our whole planet has been running on solar power for over 4 billion years!! Unfortunately, some states are less friendly towards renewable energies and are heavily lobbied against by the fossil fuel industry. Being able to generate your own resource that you can use in many different ways in your home, is the self-sufficiency, I think we can all agree is a good thing.
That array looks uber-cool. I have a ground mount single axis tracking system with 10 x 360watt panels using 5 x progressive automations linear actuators with hall sensors in them. I move them by light levels in LDR’s, as sensors controlled with an arduino, and controllable with the arduino cloud app from your phone.
Thank you for helping better “How” solar power is actually set up and function in an individual home setting . It must be nice to get a “refund” payment from the Electric company.
great...i purchased this home with the SunPower unit from 2016 having zero info on it. thanks for the info...if this doesn't work i'll have a service call but at least I saved an unnecessary call fixing a simple reset.
There could be a few reasons you are getting this error. Please read the other comments and responses as well for more info as well. It has to do with the solar panels and wiring on the roof. It could be due to a loose connection, water infiltration, or bad solar module. Those inverters have had known issues of the detectors being overly sensitive and producing nuisance trips. If you are not able to reset it, or if it trips again immediately, contact your solar installer for further diagnoses.
yes, this worked perfectly for my sunny boy inverter. i accidentally had turned off the circuit breaker that connects the inverter output to the line for a month. when i turned it back on got an arc fault, then DC Generator off warning. followed this video and it worked wonderfully. on mine,, tapping on the box did not make the display brighter. and it took mine a little longer to show the "tap to confirm arcfault reset". then it took a good two minutes to completely turn on
Thanks for the video! A solar technician inspected my system and found two places where water had gotten into connectors. To reset the 4301 error though required a tap next to the display ONE TIME when prompted as the system was coming back up.
Paul, you are a Stud Monkey pard! As a confession we've been offline for 2 months now and only noticed it after our power bill soared. So, I decided to check out 'RU-vid University' and came across your video...seemed a simple and passive enough procedure so gave it a go and Voila! We have a SMA SB7000-US so it has a separate AC disconnect (arm) and had to go through a more lengthy self check but it started up just like you said. I say this because I'm not entirely sure if my inverter is a 'TL' or not and hopefully sharing the model number will help others with this issue. Phew! Saved us time, scheduling with the solar company, and most likely a costly service charge. If we ever bump shoulders down the road the beers are me! Thanks again Paul! : - )
I found this error at night and tried to reset it. Once I went through all the steps the error code never came back up. The screen just says update complete. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi! We follow your arc fault reset advice during the day and checked it every once in a while and got a solid green light on the inverted, plus it would all the while show the activity on the display panel. Now, we went out at night and found the lights and the display panel off. Quick question... Is that normal or is there a problem? We do remember that when there was a fault, the display panel would be on day and night (as well as the slow blinking green light and also the solid red light).
If you have 2 separate inverters and only 1 is showing this error message, then this reset will only need to be performed on the inverter with the arc fault error message.
Never worked for me I had to call service. They had to take unit casing off. Now it failed again after 2 months and this reset is not reacting to my knocking
Sorry for the delay, RU-vid wasn't showing me all of the comments. Likely there is a fault in your system. Were you able to get it resolved, and get the system back online?
We have been having this issue intermittently for about 6 months now. Our installer is no longer a SunPower dealer and we are having issues getting to the bottom of this. Any idea what is causing this to continue to happen? Side note - we were told by our tech to knock continuously on the window until the unit clicks. Sometimes that can take more than 10 minutes!
Sorry for the delay, RU-vid wasn't showing me all of these comments. You should only need to knock to clear the code when the display reads "knock to confirm". Any other time will simply illuminate the display. Were you able to get this issue resolved?
Amazing! We came back from a trip to find this error had been on there for over a week. Quick and easy to follow. Worked like a charm and the neighbors think I'm nuts for knocking on my box. 😁 thank you!
I'm glad I could help you start producing solar energy sooner! The more renewable energy produced means less fossil fuel consumption. Please stay tuned for more upcoming solar videos.
THANK YOU!!! I was going for a month before I realized it had an error code. Then I got the bill.... Thanks to this it is reset. (Had a wasp next inside the panel)
Generally it is always best to wait to perform any troubleshooting or maintenance if it is raining. Sun is not necessary, but at least a somewhat bright sky.
You are the man! I have spent weeks researching this issue (we have literally been without solar for about a month) and I am so fortunate to have found your video. I was literally about to call a professional today. You saved me big thank you thank you thank you!!!!!
Thank you so much. For this video!!! It helped. Ps I tried it at night when I got home and found out about it but I’m not sure if it has to be done in the day. It was not making powering at night. So I tried it first thing in the morning and 💥 it worked. Thanks
Awesome! I forgot to mention that both AC & DC voltage needs to be present for troubleshooting. Thanks for pointing that out to me, I will be sure to correct it in the next video.
Sorry they were not helpful, but I'm glad it worked for you. Sunpower typically works through their network of certified dealers and installers. If you continue experiencing issues, you can find the closest one to you here: us.sunpower.com/dealers-installers/find-dealer-installer
i suppose an electrical equipment manufacturer would be hessitant about telling how to reset an arc fault to just any old consumer. if it is a real arc fault, the panel can burn down the house
This is great! It worked! Thank you so very much you saved me a HUGE headache, as the company that installed and warrantied my installation went bankrupt!
